https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/irony-behind-ivanka-trumps-recent-tweet-interns-justin-bariso
My comment:
To address the second question, the answer is quite easy in which it is illegal to not pay an intern (https://www.propublica.org/article/when-interns-should-be-paid-explained). So YES, interns should always receive wages.
Returning to the first question, the definition of intern is "a student or recent graduate who works for a period of time at a job in order to get experience" - Merriam Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intern). So the goals of the internship in the perspective of an intern is "experience". Personally, as an full time empoyee, everyday is a new experience. So to refine, I believe the goal of an intern is to gain experience to prepare for sophisticated job position.
But what about the company? In my view, an internship should be viewed as a "tryout" to see whether a candidate meets the organization fit before signing a full empoyent contract. However, since the company has an incentive and is in a position to take advantage of an intern, two 'ethical' obligations must be applied on the company. 1)The company must provide equal and adequate experience of the job position. 2) At the end of the internship period, the employer must notify the intern the results of the internship valuation in a transparent way.
Internships are a nice way for prospective job applicants and employees to test whether things "works out" for each other. It should never be an excuse for underpaying or mistreatment by the employer.
Original draft in Wordpress
Relocated on February 18, 2018